Adventists who fled from violence have not returned, church leaders say

Six months after violent attacks left dozens of Christians dead in Orissa, India, Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders report that conditions remain tense in the region.

The August 2008 attacks began after right-wing Hindu groups blamed Christians for the assassination of a Hindu clergyman. Recent estimates put the death toll at 119, with over 4,000 homes destroyed and more than 50,000 people displaced from 360 villages during September, officials at the All India Christian Council reported. Left-wing extremists later claimed responsibility for the Hindu clergyman's death. The government has shut done the camps created as temporary housing for the thousands of homeless Orissans, local Adventist leaders said.

Nearly 800 homes of Seventh-day Adventist Church members were destroyed, community workers reported. Paka Jesuratnam, president for the church in southern Orissa, said church members are afraid to return to their villages after hearing stories of more attacks and rumoured deaths. Jesuratnam said he did not have numbers of the reported recent deaths.

Law enforcement is unwilling or unable to provide security in individual villages, said John Dayal, secretary general for the All India Christian Council. He added that Kandhamal is a heavily forested area and difficult to keep under control.

The Central Reserved Police Forces (CRPF) personnel called in from Delhi to reinstate order and maintain security in the region are still patrolling the area, Dayal said. He estimated that 6,000 CRPF personnel are currently stationed in Orissa, but also said people still feel threatened. "Christmas was peaceful only because it took place under the guns of the CRPF," Dayal said.

Dayal said Hindu extremists have also been forcing Christians to leave their faith, estimating that the number of compulsory conversions is between 100 and 200.

Before the attacks, between 6,000 and 7,000 Seventh-day Adventists lived in the Kandhamal district in India's eastern province of Orissa, making up two to three percent of the Christian population, Jesuratnam said.

Jesuratnam said he believes all Adventists have migrated to other cities in Orissa and other parts of India for safety, including those who did not lose their houses. [Editor: Aditi Bhaduri for ANN/APD]